Tiffany Studios

with a large "Tree" base

Acquired by Mrs. Mae Mead from Tiffany Studios, New York, on the occasion of her marriage, 1906
Presented as a gift from Mrs. Mae Mead to Dr. John and Luanne Sarconi, San Mateo, CA, circa 1969
Thence by descent to the present owners

Overall in very good condition. Since 1906 this lamp has descended in the ownership of only two families, and by all accounts the shade and base have originated together since the period. The shade with approximately 22-25 cracks to the glass tiles dispersed throughout, which is a relatively low number in proportion to the vast number of glass tiles which were required to execute this complex and monumental shade. The top bronze armature of the shade and lower branching is finely cast and displays an exceptionally rich green and russet brown patina. With some gentle rubbing to the high points of the top reticulated shade armature. The bronze branching which is incorporated throughout the leaded glass shade is highly sculptural and tactile, and adds great visual interest and dimension to the lamp. With some surface soiling to the recessed contours of the top shade armature, and to the recessed contours of the shade leading along the upper register. The “Tree” base displays an exceptionally rich and satisfying russet brown patina with green highlights. The base also displays exceptional quality to the casting, and the branching on the lower cushion is particularly sculptural and well defined. The patinated bronze surfaces of the base with some occasional light surface scratches, abrasions and gentle rubbing, and with some surface soiling to the recessed contours of the design consistent with age and use. The base retains its original decorative switch, which functions as a two-way switch. All four sockets appear to be original and undisturbed. The lamp displays beautifully in person with strong visual impact and presence. The glass selection is highly artistic and thoughtful, displaying a heavily saturated and well-varied color palette. The trumpet blossoms are articulated in a full range of deep reds, oranges and yellows, set against a dramatic background of deep purple with accents of cobalt blue in the upper register. A strong example of this rare model.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Tiffany Studios paired the large "Tree" base with all of their irregular border shades, including the "Trumpet Creeper," "Wisteria," "Grape" and "Apple Blossom" models.  A late 1890s photograph from the study collection of Agnes Northrop depicting trees in Gibraltar with exposed root systems may point to the original source of inspiration for this base design.

A Garden of Creepers

Trumpet creeper, wisteria, grape, laburnum, clematis—Tiffany loved flowering vines both as a designer and as a gardener.  He admired them not only for the blossoms’ beautiful colors and interesting shapes but also for the way they freely grew across boundaries, “giving a charm and graceful unity to everything.”  Transom windows depicting wisteria enriched rooms in Tiffany’s Madison Avenue mansion and Laurelton Hall. Similar vines crawl across the tops of the many domestic windows that Tiffany Studios executed for clients’ homes across the country such as the magnificent window from the Beltzhoover mansion in Irving-on-the-Hudson where flowering wisteria and clematis vines frame the view (fig. 1).


It was a natural progression for Clara Driscoll, the chief designer for his floral lamps, to adapt the idea of a leaded glass wisteria window into a lamp and represent sculpturally the sense of a twisted, creeping vine and pendant leaves and blossoms.  She did this around 1902, and then she went on to create similar lamps with trumpet creeper, grape, and other vines.  The essential form of the shade remained the same, as did the base with its twisted vine stems.  All that need to be adjusted was the pattern of leaves, flowers and branches.

The small metal tag with a model number soldered onto the leading inside this shade indicates that this was probably one of the first examples of the Trumpet Creeper shade to be produced.  The tag has both the model number “346” and the suffix “—1.” These so-called “dash numbers” were introduced early on when the lamp business first began to flourish and were nothing more than an accounting system to regulate the stock.  Each pattern was assigned a model number, and then, as the shades were produced, each example was marked with a suffix in numerical sequence.  Thus this shade was the very first one made once the system was introduced.  (Ultimately, though, this system was abandoned and just the model number was attached.)

But even without the dash number and without knowing that the lamp had been given as a wedding present in 1906, one might surmise that this was an early example because of the great care taken in the selection of the glass.  Although the flowers of the trumpet creeper are essentially uniform in color, here they are an extraordinarily rich mixture of yellows, oranges and reds, just as the leaves are not merely green but have flashes of yellow and orange.  As in an Impressionist painting, the effect is a rich orchestration of broken color.  Tiffany and his staff were inspired by Nature but ultimately improved and transcended it.

-Martin Eidelberg, Co-Author of  The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Author of Tiffany Favrile Glass and the Quest of Beauty and Tiffany Favrile Pottery and the Quest of Beauty